Being Watchful and Ready to be the Overcomers Raptured by the Lord at His Hidden Coming

The Lord’s coming is imminent; His presence (His parousia) will first come hiddenly for those who are watchful and ready for His return, for He will come first to rapture the man-child and the firstfruits before the great tribulation, and His presence will conclude with His open coming for all to see at the end of the great tribulation.

This week in our enjoyment in the morning revival we come to a new topic, Watching and being Ready in Order to be Prepared by the Lord for His Second Coming; this is related to the Christian life, the church life, the consummation of the age, and the coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO).

The reason we get into these matters is not eschatology, that is, for us to see what events will take place, when exactly will the Lord return, and what has to happen for the Lord’s coming to be here.

What we want to do is see the divine revelation concerning the Lord’s return so that we may watch and be ready, be watchful and ready, for the Lord’s coming is imminent – it is something about to occur.

So the word of God has much to say concerning the Lord’s second coming, and it is accompanied by warning and admonition.

When we speak of the consummation of the age, we mean the last three and a half years of the great tribulation; we need to live in the light of the Lord’s return today, living a life of being prepared for His return, watching, and being ready, so that we may be prepared by the Lord for His second coming.

In Matt. 24:1-3 the disciples were admiring the grandeur of the temple, the architectural masterpiece that the temple was, but the Lord looked it and said, There shall by no means be left here one stone upon another that will not be torn down.

Such a statement must have shocked the disciples, for even now if you look at the wall of the city and of the temple, those stones are massive.

So they asked the Lord, What will be the sign of Your coming and of the consummation of the age?

This is what we want to see these days; we want to see the signs of the Lord’s coming – we want to be wise, not merely knowing the signs of the weather but also the signs of the Lord’s return (Matt. 16:3-4).

We need to know and be aware of the signs of the Lord’s coming and be prepared; we don’t have time to waste or to be foolish.

The Lord told the Pharisees that the only sign given to that generation was the sign of Jonah (Matt. 12:41), and something more than Jonah was there. Christ is the real and greater Jonah who died, went into the heart of the earth for three days, was resurrected, and proclaimed the gospel both to Jews and the Gentiles.

Then in Matt. 24:32-44 the Lord speaks of the fig tree, signifying the nation of Israel; this parable contains many prophecies, some of which already took place.

And the Lord said that when the summer is near, the branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves; this already took place.

What we need to focus on, however, is Matt. 25:1-13 and the Lord’s word there, for this is concerning us; here we see the parable of the ten virgins and the need for us to be watchful and buy the oil.

May we read this portion of the word with a spirit and atmosphere of prayer, not thinking we know about it and heard it before, but allowing the Lord to adjust us, prepare us, and produce us as His overcomers, those who are watchful and ready for His return.

May we be those who are prudent, the prudent virgins who took oil in their vessel and not only in their lamps; we do have oil in our lamp – our spirit is the lamp of Jehovah (Prov. 20:27), and in our spirit we have the Spirit as the oil.

However, we need to gain oil in our vessel also! When the Lord’s coming is here, at the hour of His parousia (His presence), may we be ready and have extra oil not only in our lamps but also in our vessel!

It will be too late for us to “buy extra oil in our vessel” at the Lord’s return; this may cost us the wedding feast.

May we pay the price every day to gain more of the infilling Spirit so that we may be prepared for the Bridegroom’s coming and enter with Him into the wedding feast, enjoying our lovely Bridegroom for our day of wedding, the one thousand years in the millennium age! Amen!

Christ’s Coming is His Presence with His People, first in a Hidden way and then Openly on the Cloud

The Greek word used for “coming” in Matt. 24:27 is “parousia”, which literally means “presence”; this same word is translated as “presence” in Phil. 2:12.

For us, His believers, the Lord’s coming will involve His presence with us.

According to the New Testament, the Lord’s return will begin before the great tribulation, when He will come in a hidden, secret way, to rapture the overcoming believers, those who are watchful and ready.

Then, during the great tribulation, He will rapture at different times those who are ripened and ready, and His presence (His parousia) will end with His open coming on the cloud when all will see Him.

The believers who are watchful and ready will be raptured to His presence, but when He will come openly at the end, all nations will see Him and the judgment will come.

When we speak of the consummation of the age – the Lord promised to be with us until the consummation of the age, Matt. 28:18 – we mean the last three and a half years period at the end of this age, the period also known as the great tribulation.

At the beginning of the great tribulation, the Lord’s parousia (His presence, His return) will start, when He will rapture the overcomers to heaven to be with Him before the great tribulation starts.

Beginning at this time, the Lord’s coming will last for three and a half years until His appearance is manifested; His secret coming is His parousia, His presence, and His manifestation openly is the epiphaneia of His coming, His open coming (2 Thes. 2:8).

So the Lord’s return involves a period of time (the parousia – His coming) and a point in time (the epiphaneia – His manifestation).

We need to understand that the Lord’s coming is not just once for all but a process, a period of time, which the Bible refers to as “the consummation of the age” or “the end of the age”.

His coming begins before the great tribulation and does not consummate until the end of the tribulation, a period of three and a half years.

This is why in some places in the Bible the Lord’s return is mentioned as being before the great tribulation, then in other places, it is during the great tribulation, and still, in some other, it is said He returns after the great tribulation.

The Lord’s second coming is an actual coming: the Lord Himself will descend from the heavens to be manifested before men.

First, He will come in a secret way to His overcomers, those who are waiting for His return, those who are watchful and ready.

His presence will first be hidden in the cloud, and He will draw to Himself those who have been living in His presence and have been overcoming; the overcomers will first be raptured.

Then, His coming with respect to His believers involves a long period of time, which begins before the great tribulation and ends at the end of the great tribulation.

At the end of the great tribulation, the Lord’s presence will be manifested openly on the cloud, and He will come to the earth to appear to men.

There are two aspects of the Lord’s return – the secret and hidden aspect which will be seen only by those who are watchful and ready, and the open aspect like a lightning across the sky, which will be seen openly by everyone (Matt. 24:27, 30).

Lord Jesus, we love You and we love Your appearing. We want to live in Your presence today so that we may be raptured in Your presence at Your return. Amen, Lord Jesus, make us those who are watchful and ready for Your return so that we may be saved from passing through the great tribulation and be raptured into Your presence. Dear Lord Jesus, we just want to live one spirit with You today. We open our whole being to You, Lord, so that You may work in us and transform us and conform us into Your image. Amen Lord, may our daily living be in the sensation of Your return. We have nothing here on earth to live for – nothing compares to You, for You are our goal, and Your return is what we’re looking for!

Being Watchful and Ready to be the Overcomers Raptured by the Lord in His coming before the Great Tribulation

A clear understanding of the Lord’s return, according to His word in the Bible, will cause us to have a certain kind of living, which is a preparation for the Lord’s coming.

Christ’s coming will be His presence with His people; His coming (His parousia) will begin with the rapture of the man-child (the dead overcomers – Rev. 12:5) and of the firstfruits (the living overcomers – Rev. 14:1-4) before the great tribulation, and it will end with His appearing on the earth with the saints at the great tribulation (Matt. 24:27, 30; 2 Thes. 2:8; Jude 14).

In Rev. 12 we see a great, bright, shining, universal woman, signifying all of God’s people; she is about to give birth, and she brings forth the man-child, the stronger part of the woman, the overcomers, who is caught up to God and to His throne.

The man-child refers to the overcomers throughout history that are now dead; they will be raptured before the great tribulation.

Then in Rev. 14, we see the firstfruits, the living overcomers, those who are alive when the Lord’s coming (His parousia) begins; they will be also raptured.

We want to be the firstfruits, the overcomers, those who are watchful and ready for the Lord’s return so that we may be raptured by Him in His coming before the great tribulation.

Of such ones the Lord spoke that two will be in the field – one is taken and the other is left, and two women are grinding at the mill – one is taken and the other is left.

In Jude 14 Enoch prophesied saying, Behold the Lord came with myriads of His saints; when He returns in His open coming, He will come back with His overcomers, and He will come back to fight against Antichrist and his armies at the battle of Armageddon.

Christ with His overcomers will defeat the Antichrist and his false prophet, and all their armies and He will throw Antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire.

Then, when the Lord returns openly at the end of the great tribulation, He said that it will be as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west; all will see Him.

If we have a clear understanding of the consummation of the age (the great tribulation, a time when the earth is not a pleasant place to live on) and of the Lord’s return, His parousia, we will give ourselves to the Lord to be produced as His overcomers, those who are watchful and ready for Him to rapture them before the great tribulation.

We don’t want to be left on earth when the great tribulation starts; if we are left, there’s a high chance that we will be persecuted and even martyred by the Antichrist, and if this doesn’t happen, the earth will be under God’s judgment, so it will be terrible to live in those days.

Today we want to live in the Lord’s presence, be one with Him, and cooperate with Him in His organic salvation to be produced as His overcomers.

May we be the overcoming ones today, those who are watchful and ready for His return at all times; the earth is not here for us to enjoy, the world has nothing to offer us that is more precious than the Lord, and no position, career, or riches can replace the Lord as the first and best love for us.

May we be the watchful, overcoming believers who are waiting for the Lord today, so that we may participate in the hidden aspect of His return.

Especially as we read these words, as we read the Bible, enjoy the footnotes in the Recovery Version Bible, and enjoy the rich speaking of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery, may we inwardly give ourselves to the Lord to be prepared as His overcomers, those who are watchful and ready for His return.

Oh, how we want to participate in the Lord’s secret coming to be raptured by Him at His appearing to be His firstfruits, His precious ones!

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You today to be those watchful for Your return, those being made ready for Your imminent coming. We want to cooperate with Your bride-preparing work. We open to Your inner working so that You may produce us as Your overcomers. Lord, we aspire to overcome. We are here on earth for You. We love You. We love Your appearing. We want to live in the light of Your return. Keep us in Your presence, dear Lord, until we will forever live in Your presence, being made ready for You to rapture us into Your presence for eternity! Amen, Lord Jesus, grant us the mercy and the grace to be such ones, the overcoming ones in this age!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” ch. 60, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life, the Church Life, the Consummation of the Age, and the Coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO), week 2, Watching and being Ready in Order to be prepared by the Lord for His Second Coming.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Thou art coming, Thou art coming; / We shall meet Thee on Thy way; / We shall see Thee, we shall know Thee, / We shall bless Thee, we shall show Thee / All our hearts could never say: / What an anthem that will be, / Ringing out our love to Thee, / Pouring out our rapture sweet / At Thine own all-glorious feet. (Hymns #967)
  – Each time when of heavenly blessings I think, / O let my heart long to be raptured to Thee; / My only hope here is Thy coming again, / My only joy there, Lord, Thy presence will be. (Hymns #389)
  – The local churches are preparing for the Lord’s return— / We know the time is near for our Bridegroom so dear. / He’s coming back to claim the Bride for which His heart doth yearn, / That with Him we may be through all eternity. (Hymns #1131)